GEORGE SEYMOUR [MAYOR OF FRASER COAST]: This morning, the suburbs of Dundowran, Dundowran Beach and Craignish have been added to the disaster declared areas. The Community Recovery Hub is set up here at Hervey Bay Library, and we have services from Lifeline Counselling, Ergon, Department of Housing, community recovery, and people that are here to help.

We are here to help at the Hervey Bay Library. I encourage people that have been affected to come here and access supports. We have great support from the Federal Government. We have Senator Anthony Chisholm here today. I really want to express my appreciation to the Federal Government. I spoke with Tanya Plibersek this morning about the situation, and Senator Chisholm has been very involved right from the start.

So, I really want to thank both levels of government for the way they have supported and helped our community to get back on track. We had over 1600 properties impacted to one level or another. Over 400 calls to the SES, and we have so many people helping. There were 5000 properties without power. Ergon have done an incredible job. The SES, the Rural Fire Brigade, from places I've never even heard of, came here to help, and are in our community right now. We have the volunteers from the Red Cross to the Salvation Army, to the SES and Rural Fire Brigade, looking after people. We have come together in this, and we will move forward. And I really want to pay tribute to the resilience of the community.

 

ANTHONY CHISHOLM [ASSISTANT MINISTER]: Thanks, George. It's good to be with you and I didn't expect to be back in Hervey Bay so quickly, but I wanted to acknowledge what the community have gone through over the last few days, including Saturday and Sunday. Obviously, when I was here last week, we were hoping that we might be able to avoid the worst of it, but they're hard to predict, and I think that's the case of what we saw over Saturday and Sunday in this community.

Thank you to George and your leadership, and also to the council staff, emergency services, volunteers, and first responders. I know the Army have also been in town over recent days so thanks as well for the work that they've been doing. From my point of view, I see that the recovery has started, but it's important to acknowledge that that recovery will take time, and the Federal Government wants to be here with the local community every step of the way.

I know yesterday that the State and Federal governments announced some support for impacted communities and people, and we're expanding that today with the Federal Government announcing that we'll establish the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment, which will be open for those eligible from 2pm today, and you can apply for that through Services Australia.

But in regards to Services Australia, I know that there's an issue with their facility, and a mobile team are here and will be set up so that people will have access to Services Australia using that mobile facility, based at its existing location, in Pialba as well.

I wanted to thank everyone that's been part of the recovery effort, the extra services that have been supplied here. I acknowledge that that's important. The Federal Government wants to ensure that we play our role to support the local community, work constructively with the State Government, and acknowledge that there'll be further support that's needed and will be part of that response in due course, as we get more data and more analysis about the suburbs that have been impacted.

So, we want to acknowledge that this is the start of the recovery process. The Federal Government wants to play its part to ensure that we're on the ground, we're listening to local communities, and we understand what those challenges are.

 

JOURNALIST: For Hervey Bay and Fraser Coast residents who are wondering what financial assistance is available to them, can you just make that really clear and how they can go about accessing it?

 

CHISHOLM: So, there's two parts to this. One is our response with the State Government, which was announced yesterday by Minister McAllister and Minister Leahy at the state level, and that is in regards to the Emergency Hardship Assistance Grants of $180 for individuals and up to $900 for a family of five. And the next one at the state level is the Disaster Recovery Allowance, which provides up to 13 weeks of income support for eligible workers and sole traders. So that you can apply for through the Queensland Government disaster help webpage.

Second, the one that is started today, which people can apply for from 2pm today through Services Australia, is the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment. So that will open from 2pm and is a one off, non-means tested payment of $1,000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child. And you can apply for that through the Services Australia website. And obviously, as I mentioned, that mobile facility will be set up at Pialba for Services Australia, to help those people who need to get there in person.

 

JOURNALIST: I guess, something we sort of keep hearing from residents here who have been impacted is just how surprised they were to be caught in the firing line from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. What would you say to people who are dealing with the clean up quite unexpectedly this week?

 

CHISHOLM: I imagine it's a really difficult scenario, and none of us hope for this to happen. Obviously, we need to ensure that we're learning the lessons about how people are alerted to these challenges. That's something that I'll be talking about with the Mayor as we get out and about today, and see the impact on the ground. But that's something we always want to ensure, that we get better, so that people have the maximum amount of time to prepare for something like this. But the reality with cyclones, and what we're dealing with is, is it's very hard to predict how much rain will actually be dumped on a particular location.

 

JOURNALIST: And when you say, sort of looking into how people are alerted, will that be, you know, sort of chatting with BOM about their alerts in this particular event?

 

CHISHOLM: My understanding is BOM did update regularly on the Saturday. The responsibility for alert lies with local government in terms of how they've notified residents. But if there's things that we can improve on in terms of that relationship, that's something that I’d be open to discussing.

 

JOURNALIST: Do we need more resources at BOM potentially? Those guys would have been off their feet this past week.

 

CHISHOLM: I think they did an outstanding job. My understanding is they were in the disaster centre full time and providing updates on a regular basis to both Minister McAllister and the Premier. They do an outstanding job across the country, and I think that in this instance, they did provide alerts. But ensuring that that gets communicated to the public is really important.

 

JOURNALIST: There's been a few major weather events in Queensland this disaster season. I guess as we approach the end of disaster season, what would be your message to residents right across Queensland?

 

CHISHOLM: We know it's been a really difficult summer and that people have had to endure up in Far North Queensland, around this area, and also now in South East Queensland as well. We want to ensure that we're working constructively with state and local governments to ensure that we're helping people and communities as we recover. The Federal Government will be in this for the long term. I'll be a regular visitor to this part of the world to ensure that we get that right. We want to work constructively with the Mayor and State Government. We've done that as we've gone through the disaster. Now, we want to do it as part of the recovery.

 

JOURNALIST: Any like more firm idea of how many houses and locked up businesses have been affected here?

 

CHISHOLM: Yeah, it’s not something I've been updated from, but the way the process works in terms of government response, particularly at the federal level, is we rely on the impact data from the states, and then that informs us making decisions about making recovery payments available.

So, this is the start of that process, and as you heard from the Mayor earlier, additional suburbs have been added on through that process at the state level. We'll continue that analysis, and work with the State Government to ensure that we're responding as quickly as possible, once we get that data that shows the impact that's been made.

 

JOURNALIST: I just had one more question there about tariffs from Trump. Can you comment on the tariffs on steel and aluminium exports and what that would mean for regional businesses?

 

CHISHOLM: Obviously, it's disappointing news that’s come in overnight. The Federal Government is still working through what it means. I would acknowledge that the last time this happened in the first Trump administration, it did take nine months for the then government to actually overcome those tariffs. So, we'll continue to work hard and advocate for Australia's interests. But the one thing we have been successful at since we came to government is actually expanding our trade relationships. So, we are confident that we can ensure that we do have good access for our steel and aluminium in other markets around the world, to ensure that those important jobs in regional Australia, in Gladstone, for instance, continue to thrive, and that those businesses continue to operate and create that employment in regional Australia.

 

JOURNALIST: I'll just ask a follow up question, is this likely to hurt any of those industries?

 

CHISHOLM: We're confident that we'll continue to advocate strongly with America. As I said, it did take nine months for this to be overcome last time. But what we will do is work really hard to ensure those existing trade relationships that we've got, expand into new ones, and that we do have that opportunity for Australian steel and aluminium to be exported around the world, because that's really important for those jobs. Thanks everyone.

 

JOURNALIST: Maybe a couple more for George. So, you've mentioned there was a few additional areas that have been now included, I guess what goes into expanding that area.

 

SEYMOUR: A lot of the groundwork for the damage assessment has been done by the fire department, now over 1,600 properties. The information we're getting back is that there is damage in those suburbs, and we've worked very quickly with the State Government to get them included.

 

JOURNALIST: Would it be fair to say we're still even trying to understand just how impactful this disaster has been in the region?

 

SEYMOUR: This has been a very significant disaster which has impacted many people in different ways. Homes, businesses, schools, which are still being cleaned up now by the ADF right now. Community organizations like the Hervey Bay Historical Society, and Macabre Theatre Company. There's a wide range of impacts, and we will see that continuing as we go. You know, today is Wednesday. This happened Sunday morning. I think that we will continue to see, you know, changes. Our community is very, very resilient, but this is difficult. People have been stretched. People have been inundated several days. I've been at businesses where there are cleaning out their stock, like Madigans, everything's going to the tip. I’ve been to apartment complexes like Riviera, where their basement parking lot was flooded - cars underneath, motorcycles and the electrical switchboards, which has massive ramifications for coming weeks and months.

 

JOURNALIST: And the recovery hubs opened today. I guess you know, we're here talking financial support. If people are a bit confused about how to go about it, is that one of the things they can discuss here?

 

SEYMOUR: I'm really proud of our council staff. We have council staff that have been out there since Sunday morning. They got to the depot before it was safe to be out there, fixing the roads and putting signs up. Our crews were ready to go as soon as it was safe to do so on Sunday morning, and they are here now. The same people that are helping the community right now, here at the Recovery Centre, were at the place of refuge overnight on Sunday night, helping people who had been displaced. So, I'm really proud of our council staff and the way they have responded to this. And people can come here to the Fraser Coast Library, Hervey Bay branch, to the community recovery, which brings in a wide range of services, from Lifeline to Ergon.

 

JOURNALIST: Been a bit of an uptake already, I guess. What is the feeling on the ground, George, now that we're a couple of days away from the event?

 

SEYMOUR: Yeah, I think people who have rolled up their sleeves and getting carpet and bedding out, are now seeing the supports that are available from the State Government and the Federal Government, as announced just now by Senator Chisholm. They know that support is here. We have organizations like WECARE2, who are helping people as well. I think that there is this resilient, caring community that will help those people who have been affected.

 

JOURNALIST: George, accommodation is always an issue here in the Fraser Coast. Have you spoken to any providers about how, because this will be long term, how we manage that?

 

SEYMOUR: The Council has been working with the Department of Housing, and real estate agents, some of whom have lost their premises. So there are real estate agents whose facilities have been flooded, and we are working with body corporates. There is an accommodation issue here in terms of the apartments that have been flooded. So we've been working very closely with Department of Housing, who are here in the Community Recovery Hub.

 

JOURNALIST: So, does that mean there'll be some emergency housing for people say, you know, in those apartment buildings where we're finding there's no power?

 

SEYMOUR: Just as with everything, there are nuanced circumstances. Some of those people have insurance, who will help them with accommodation. Every single story that comes through the door here at the Hervey Bay library is different. They will be seeing the Department of Housing. They'll be seeing Ergon. They'll be seeing Lifeline people are here to help.

 

JOURNALIST: And with a number of those waterfront apartment buildings being impacted, will that have flow on affects to tourism? Will we feel it there?

 

SEYMOUR: So, I was meeting with the managers. Some of these departments are half owner occupied, half tourism. With these switchboards that have been flooded, we don't know when they can be replaced

 

JOURNALIST: So, I guess we'll just continue to work with tourism operators in the lead up to busier times of the season?

 

SEYMOUR: Fraser Coast region relies on tourism for our economy. We will certainly be seeking support from other levels of government on how to deal with this. But can I say I've been very, very happy with the support that's coming from the State and Federal Governments to help our community.